Nagendra, who is studying for an MBA in London,
came through an audition to earn a place as a dancer in the spectacular opening
ceremony for London 2012.

But after taking her place among the thousands of
other volunteer performers, she then decided to prolong her moment in the
spotlight. She snuck in among the Indian athletes as they began their parade
around the Olympic stadium on Friday night, taking a prominent place at the
front of the group next to Beijing bronze medallist Sushil Kumar, who was the
flag-bearer.

Millions of people across the world wondered who
the woman in a red top and blue trousers was, with the Indian Olympic
contingent outraged that their moment in the spotlight had been hijacked by
what was then an unidentified mystery woman.

But back in India, her friends and family
recognised her instantly.

"We knew she had been selected for the
cultural programme after an audition. But we did not expect to see her with the
contingent!" a former colleague of Nagendra's told The Hindu, before
adding that he was not surprised that she had been involved in the ceremony.

"She was a fun-loving person and was very
excited about having been selected to perform in the Olympics.
Madhura had also shared her happiness on Facebook, where she said she felt
it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

A college friend from London also recognised her,
and told the Deccan Chronicle that she was "baffled seeing her with the
Indian contingent".

Games chief Sebastian Coe explained that Nagendra
had "got over-excited", prompting her audacious decision to join in
the parade, cheekily adding that the security concerns are something that,
"we will be looking at next time we have an opening ceremony".

Madhura's father K Nagendra apologised on behalf
of his daughter - who has yet to speak publicly about her high-profile
gatecrashing - and said that he thought she may have been asked to help out.

"From whatever I learnt and presume that she
being an Indian, the London Olympics Organising Committee might also have
selected her to 'take' the team inside the stadium. This might have hurt our
team's feelings. I feel very sorry for that," Mr Nagendra told the Times
of India.